Special Edition

I have no rhyme or reason for the team sets I chase.  Sometimes a set may have a cool checklist, other times it may be the looks of the cards. I think this 1995 UD Special Edition set falls somewhere in the middle.

The Special Edition cards were a hobby only insert that was placed 1 a pack.  They are not too rare, but are old enough now to where it can be a pain in the butt to complete. Anytime I can add a new Al Martin card I'm a happy camper.

Feast your eyes on eight beauties....

To me the best card is the Orlando Merced naughty face photo. Overall the set has a nice shiny chrome look to it that makes the cards look better in person than any scan I'm showing.

Do you guys remember these?

Thanks for reading

I Splurged

Team USA Topps Now Game Used Base /99

I actually don't regret this purchase as much as I thought I would.  When I saw this Team USA relic card get announced I kept telling myself I wasn't going to go after it.  Well as you can see I have little will power.  I ended up buying every Topps Now WBC card that featured a Bucco.  Thankfully it was only 4 and this was the only relic. 

As for the card itself it is nice enough.  Topps does a nice job shipping these out in magnetic cases and a custom Topps Now container. I also really liked the photo used of Cutch and Christian Yelich celebrating. I'm curious to see how the Spring Traning sets will be shipped. 

Big night of sports tonight with the Pens and Pirates both playing.  Enjoy all the games tonight.

Thanks for reading. 

Poisoned by Tom

P-town Tom and I have completed a lot of trades.  By my counts I have received around 15 packages over the years.  I always admire Tom's quickness. It seems like as soon as I hit him with something a return shot is in my mailbox within days. As always Tom's trades have quite the variety...

 How about a 61 Fleer Little Poison.

 And a Big Poison!

What a way to start out a trade package.  Thanks for sending these my way Tom.  Of course we are not done because Tom is the man.

 Tom must know someone who is a master of TTM's or IP autos. I believe this might be the second Bell auto that has been sent my way.  Since Bell doesn't have a certified auto in the Bucco uniform this is the cream of the crop.

My cardboard wish is that Bell gets a Fan Favorites Archives auto one of these days.  

 Got a love the real auto over the facsimile.

Craig Wilson was another favorite of mine during his Pirate days.  He probably would have had a much longer career if he played in today's game.  His skill set of high obp and position flexibility would be sought after. 

 I want to dub the red parallels from Prizm "Reign in Blood" parallels.  Slayer!!!!!  Reese Mcguire is now in the Blue Jays system as he was part of the Francisco Liriano deal.

 So far the Polanco Topps is my favorite Pirate card in 2017.  The Polanco Opening Day card is my first taste of that set so far.

 Josh Bell is still a little raw, especially on the defensive side. The bat looks like it will play though so I'm hoping he continues to develop. The Pirates need him to have a big year to be competitive.

Now this Cobra is super cool. It is from the 1981 Perma Super Star Credit Card Series. What a great oddball. 

Thanks for the cards Tom.  I'll hit you back soon.

Thanks for reading! 

Cool Now but I'm Sad Now

This Marte has been the only Pirate NOW card at this point of the season. Love any card featuring the Buccos in their 79 Sunday jerseys.  I was watching the game when this happened so I kind of figured this moment would be made into a card since Topps absolutely loves walk off cards. They seriously make every walk off card a NOW card.

Speaking of Marte, I was pretty upset about his suspension. The Pirates were considered a fringe contender at the beginning of the year. That means they have little margin for error. Losing arguably your most important player for the most selfish of reasons is hard to take. This could have a trickle down effect if the Buccos are out of the playoff hunt around deadline time. Really no one is safe from being traded minus Polanco and Taillon. I hope they can stay afloat.

I was a little disappointed that Topps didn't make a NOW card for Dovydas Neverausks. He made his debut last night becoming the first Lithuanian born player to play in  the majors.  He was sent back tonight to make way for Gift Ngoepe who became the first player from Africa to play in the majors. Pretty cool stuff.  Maybe we will get a dual card tomorrow, although I'm sure someone will hit a walk off single.

Thanks for reading.

A New Bay

My daughter decided to be a complete crazy person tonight so I'm getting a late start.

2008 UD Premier Jason Bay Auto /25

This card is a not so subtle reminder that Bay won Rookie of the Year in 2004....

It has been a long time since I've added two Bay autos in the same week. This one comes from 2008 UD Premiere. It has been a long time since I've seen one of these pop up. It is also 9000 times nicer than the quad auto featuring Bay that I dubbed the ugliest card I own on Saturday.

This cost me a shade over $10 which is high for a Bay auto. Makes me think that a few other Bay collectors might have been taking a look at this one. Further proof that these are hard to find. All five of us must have been looking at the same card :)

Hopefully the luck continues with finding Bay's in the coming weeks.

Drink Eat Play

I spent this past weekend in the DC area to celebrate a close friends birthday.  DC is always a perfect getaway because it is only a 3 hour drive from my house and I have lots of options for free lodging. This trip came at the perfect time as I had been putting in a lot of hours at work recently and needed to disconnect from my normal day to day routines. From that stand point the trip was a rousing success. 

The big event of the weekend was a craft beer festival at Nationals park. This festival really catered to the local Virginia/Maryland beer scene.  It was a ton of fun getting to sample some up and coming breweries. 

The only disappointment was the rain but it was likely a blessing in disguise. Friends that attended the even last year told me it was much more crowded the year before.  I don't think I waited more than 5 minutes in a line all day.  It was going to take a lot more than rain to stop me from having a good time.  

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My friends are big into scotch.  I have enough expensive hobbies, but it was fun to try. 

This is bar called Jack Rose and it was one of the biggest whiskey collections that you will ever see.  It has been featured a lot on TV and the Internet so it is very popular place.  While they have some crazy expensive/rare whiskey most of the items are priced reasonably.  

 I don't know a ton about whiskey so I usually play it safe and go with something from Ireland that isn't super rare.  Such was the case of Redbreast.

 One of my favorite places to visit in the DC area is Ocelot Brewing. The beer is awesome and the staff is very helpful.  They also have a big WVU connection as the head brewer is a grad.

Of course I bought a few bottles on site to take homes.  Two of the best beer names you will find.

Overall it was a great trip that completely centered around having a good time.  Back to cards tomorrow!

Thanks for reading.

Back to My Comfort Zone

1999 Fleer Skybox Premium Star Rubies Jason Kendall /50

After showing off the ugliest card ever I feel like my blog needed a cleanse.  I needed to show something that is more in my comfort zone.  Enter late 90's parallels! 

I've shown a few star rubies cards since I started blogging, but this is by far the biggest name. Kendall and Brian Giles were the faces of the franchise in the late 90's. He was such a unique talent being that he was a catcher who had above average speed. Plus you have to go all the way back to Kent Tekulve to find someone with as many cool cards as Jason Kendall.  This is probably in my top three all time Kendall cards.

I'm slowly forgetting that SP Signature Edition card from yesterday....

This May be the Ugliest Card I Own

2012 SP Signature Edition Bay/Francouer/Mauer/Willis Auto /20

I found this card on eBay not long after it listed and put it on my watch list. I pretty much hate everything about this card and yet here we are. Please make fun of me in the comments as I deserve every insult for owning this card. The allure of adding a new Jason Bay to my collection was just too much for me to handle.

While I'm not a super collector, Bay holds a special place in my collecting heart. I just enjoy adding cards of his no matter how crappy the design.  You put Polanco or Cutch on this card and I easily pass on it. 

Good lord this card is ugly......but it is mine. 

Thanks for reading.

HSCA Delivers Mike Fetters and Bob Walk

Brian is one of the lucky ones that has card shows and shops at his disposal. I'm not that jealous though because Brian is always looking out for me.  Each time I get package it is chalk full of unique items.

Speaking of unique.  Where in the heck did you find this Brian?  How cool is this! 

Kevin Newman has become a legitimate high end prospect.  He is likely the shortstop of the future who might make his debut at some point next season. 

 Brian is starting to learn his obscure Mountaineers!

 I love this card, but now it makes me sad :(

 Jay Bell left Pittsburgh before the parallel/auto/relic explosion.  Always a fan favorite, I'm pumped that Brian found this.

 Another unique item.  Yes this is part of a used 79 World Series ticket.  With inflation that seat now cost 42 million dollars.

I'm a huge team card fan and also have a nice collection of manager cards.  This nails both spectrum's.

 A nice parallel of Josh Harrison.  If he could ever learn some plate discipline he would be a super valuable player.  Did you see a couple games back when he was hit by a pitch in four consecutive plate appearances....Ouch

 Fleer have several short lived fancy looking sets from this era.  Some of my favorites to find Buccos from. Love this Kevin Young!

Professional drinker Jung Ho Kang.

 Brian continues his WVU dominance. The Quincy Wilson east/west game card from Ultra is my favorite.

 Brian really helped my team set with all these GQ Buccos.

 Sexy beast Mike Fetters.

 I'm pro mascot card!

 A card I forgot to show yesterday with the Donruss break.

Sorry Mike Fetters, you are still a distant second to Mr. Walk.

Thanks for the trade Brian.  What an eclectic bunch of cards and memorabilia.  A+ effort my friend.

Thanks for reading.

Walk, Papoy, HSCA Collaboration #19

I think this is actually number 20 as I need to go back and post my portion of a Finest box from February. This time around I'll be showing my portion of a box of Diamond Kings busted by Brian of HSCA fame.

Of all the boxes we've opened in our collaboration, DK has delivered the most. On multiple occasions we have hit low numbered patches and autographs.  While my portion of this break didn't deliver a monster and did help my Pirates collection.

 The base cards of Diamond Kings all have a canvas feel to them. Like most Panini products the old time players look the best.  This Honus Wagner card is super cool.

 Here is Max Carey looking like my Dad when he was pissed at me as a child.

 A very young Paul Waner.

Watching Aaron Judge take batting practice is now on my bucket list.  Good lord can he murder a baseball. He just pulverized a hanging curve tonight.

 Here are a couple of silver frame cards. The Don Larsen is pretty cool while the Chipper is boring.

 A sampling of a few more base cards. It was nice to get both the Waner brothers in my break.

Now for my hit!

Obviously I was pretty happy that Brian pulled a Pirate.  We had been on quite a dry run pulling Pirate hits. Josh Bell will have a little more pressure to produce now that Marte is suspended. Hopefully he can have a big year.

Brian also threw in some cool extras in which I'll have a separate post tomorrow.  Here is a sneak peak of one of the cool items.

How cool is that!

Thanks for the break Brian.